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I (Can) Do (This)
He stands before the mirror, his custom-made tuxedo (*not many men are built along these lines,* he muses) is impeccable. The wing-like tufts of hair that are the only physical manifestation of his mutation, refuse to be greased, oiled, moussed or steamed into looking normal. *Fuck it!* He places his comb in his rear, right pocket and glowers into the mirror. By all rights, it should be breaking, but it, like he, is made of sterner stuff than that. ********** Logan hefts the slab of marble and totes it out of the school foyer. "That looks heavy," says Hank. "Need a hand?" He smiles, knowing the response before it comes. "In a pig's eye, Furball!" Hank turns and picks up a somewhat larger slab of marble. "The Brotherhood sure did a number on the school. You have to wonder how Chuck can continue to rebuild the place. Even Howard Hughes would have been double-checking his petty cash these last two times." "Well, sugar," comes a voice all honey and blue, "it's cheaper than bringing in Damage Control. Not that they'd rush right in to help us muties..." When Marie laughs, it's like wind-chimes. Both men take delight in it. ********** The face in the mirror smiles. Thinking about Marie is one of the few things that can generate that response - and the only one that doesn't involve some kind of mayhem. ********** Bobby Drake watches as Marie circles Logan. In the last year, she has absorbed abilities, memories and personality traits from a number of assorted felons, mutants and relatives. She moves as well as Logan. Bobby figures that if they'd been sparring with anyone else, Hank and Kurt included, the fight would have been over long ago. So far, they haven't actually thrown a punch or a kick. Every time one begins a move, the other begins the approriate counter. They are both sweating like they've run marathons. Suddenly, they stop and bow. Bobby blinks. Then he realizes that there was one more move in the last round, than he'd thought. Marie had lost her concentration and Logan's move had been so quick that Bobby hadn't seen it until he replayed the sequence in his mind. *Whoa! That was awesome! I wish Logan'd show me how to do that stuff!* ********** He stands before the mirror. the refrain "I can do this", runs through his mind like a mantra - IcandothisIcandothisIcandothis... ********** After the session, Logan sees Marie, already half unclothed, disappear into the women's showers. Even after seeing her in her skin-tight uniform, he is surprised by the fullness of her breast and finds himself feeling guilty about - but no. That way lies madness! ********** "...and when Momma heard that Alvin Hudson had proposed to cousin Phyllis, she stepped right in and took over planning the wedding. Phyllis, of course, was grateful. Aunt Serena had died a year before and Uncle Jerry had no clue!" The wind-chimes sound again. Logan laughs. "Of course, in spite of Momma's best efforts, the wedding went off without a hitch - it was the reception that was a disaster. "First Uncle Jerry, the father of the bride, no less, lost his cheap toupee in the punch. Then Alvin broke Phyllis' toe during the first dance. And finally, Cousin Eddy had about a six-pack too many and threw up in the couple's getaway car!" "It sounds like..." Logan catches himself. "...like it's a good thing that my parents don't want anything to do with me?" finishes Marie. Logan has the good grace to blush. "Sorry," he mumbles. "It's okay, sugar," says Marie. In a weird way, you're right. It *is* a good thing that my parents don't want to have anything to do with me." "To borrow a line from something I caught on TV last night," says Logan, "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say 'HUH?'" Marie looks around the empty room - even though she knows they're alone in the den. She wants Logan to squirm. He does - going an even deeper shade of red, before she lets him off the hook. "If I was still at home, I'd never have met you, ya big goof! And when did *you* start watching Buffy?" ********** There's a knock on the rest room door. "Logan? You okay in there?" "Gimme a minute, willya?" "Everyone's here!" "Yeah, yeah. In a minute!" ********** Logan thinks back: After he saves Marie from dying as an unwilling participant in Magneto's misguided plot, Logan feels responsible for her. Even so, when he has the chance to try to find out about his past, he leaves - with her blessing - though neither has really understood the emotions they've evoked in each other. It's only when he returns to find her looking at him like *that*, and Bobby Drake looking at him with envy, that Logan realizes that she is a woman in love. His own feelings are a composite of love and guilt: she is a beautiful, sensitive, intelligent young woman (whose skin is deadly), and he is probably older than her father - the father who is so terrified of her. The latter being the only thing he has in common with the man. Eventually, the fearless Wolverine gets a grip on his terror, and, after two years of sparring, and joking, and fighting together, he tells her that he loves her. Their lovemaking, even with all the necessary precautions, is prodigious. Jubilee, walking past Logan's room one night, mutters, "Jeez! And I can't even tell them to get a room!" ********** The rest room door explodes in a burst of crimson energy. There are unpleasant sounds coming from beyond it. *Oh, thank God! A fight* ********** Bodies lie strewn across the mansion's lawn. Logan rushes, like a man possessed, to each one - making sure it's not a comrade, or worse... ********** Logan dashes out of the room, his eyes anxious. Is Marie there, yet? Is anyone hurt? As he almost explodes into the hall, he sees Hank, Kurt, Bobby and Scott - standing in a row. Smiling. "We had to get you out of there somehow," says Scott. "You're still a dick," growls Logan, as he brushes past them and strides into the chapel and up the aisle. The others fall in behind him. ********** Finally, he finds Marie in the infirmary. "The problem with absorbing other people's powers, sugar, is that you never know when they'll wear off." "You picked a great time to lose that armor-tough hide thing, eh, darlin'?" "Right in one, love." ********** 'I thought you'd never come out of there,' says Charles, in his head. 'I guess we all have our private fears, eh?' 'Cut the Canuckisms, Chuck. You're just right for 'em,' thinks Logan. 'Let's get this show on the road!' 'Right you are, sir' ********** A week later, he finally finds the courage (*afraid of nuthin', my ass!*) to go with the ring he's had in his jeans for months. "You know how I feel about you, Marie. Will you marry me, darlin'?" "It's about time, sugar. I was afraid you'd lose that ring in a barroom brawl!" Marie's wind-chimes go off again, and Logan feels something he would never have expected - he feels like he's at home. *So this is what peace feels like...* "And...?" "Yes, you mad, impetuous fool! Yes!" ********** The chapel is small, and there are few guests - fellow mutants and fellow students and staff; some of the professor's friends (Reed Richards, Dr. Donald Blake, Dr. Bruce Banner); a few of Logan's Japanese friends. Logan stands before the priest, sweating like a condemned man. The groomsmen have taken their places beside him. There is the sound of a door opening. Everyone turns towards the chapel entrance. Kitty solemnly walks up the aisle in her bridesmaid's dress. It's a simple light green a-line with a gold sash around the waist. Her purse and shoes are gold. Her eyes say that Vera Wang will die for this indignity. Jubilee follows, then Ororo (who makes her dress look *good*!), and, finally the maid of honor, Jean. The first notes of the Wedding March cascade from the church's pipe organ. Marie appears, just beyond the chapel entrance. Charles moves smoothly into place beside her, in his least ostentatious chair. Slowly, they proceed up the aisle. Marie is resplendent in a 19th-Century wedding gown and veil that have been in the Xavier family for better than 150 years. Their colour has gone from a pristine white to a very soft ivory that seems to make her reddish-brown hair shine, and her white streaks take on the soft glow of freshly fallen snow. (The veil is an oddity, but an elegantly exquisite one - it is held in place by a tiara and hangs over Marie's face, leaving her hair free - and is so sheer that her face is clearly visible to everyone in the chapel.) The long, once-white gloves that accessorize the dress, are of the same fabric as the dress and are the same ivory colour. The bridal bouquet is roses - snow white and blood red. Charles is wearing a cobalt blue tuxedo and a white Edwardian shirt. But no one sees him - they are all staring at Marie - strong, vital, vulnerable Marie. They are seeing her eys tear and her smile explode into nova-like brilliance. They do not see her tremble. Logan swears he feels his heart stop - then start - then stop again. Finally, they are together. The priest asks the assembly, "Who gives this woman's hand in marriage?" Charles releases Marie's arm and, in his surprisingly deep voice, says, "I do." ********** "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Logan blinks. *What happened to the rest of the ceremony?* Then he recovers and gently tips Marie's chin up as he leans forward to kiss her through the veil. He relaxes into the kiss and once again, he feels peace. Now and forever, he is home. finis ~*~ Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to Marvel Comics and Fox. Back to Wedding Challenge Index
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